Spanoulis's late heroics lead Olympiacos to road win

Olympiacos Piraeus improved to 6-1 in Group F by downing Nizhny Novgorod 82-91 on the road on Thursday. Olympiacos got its second consecutive win and dropped Nizhny to 2-5. Georgios Printezis led the winners with 20 points. Vassilis Spanoulis added 13 points and 6 assists, Brent Petway scored 12 and Othello Hunter and Tremmell Darden each had 10 for Olympiacos. Art Parakhouski led Nizhny with 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting and 11 rebounds. Taylor Rochestie added 18 points, Semen Antonov scored 13 and Tarence Kinsey 11 for the hosts. Thompkins and Parakhouski shined early to give Nizhny a 14-11 lead, but Darden and Petway helped the Reds tie the game, 24-24, at the end of the first quarter. Nizhny led most of the way in the first half and a layup by Parakhouski gave the hosts a 42-41 edge at the break. Parakhouski took over after the break and got plenty of help from Antonov for a 63-57 advantage late in the third quarter. Printezis and Matt Lojeski stepped up for Olympiacos and a three-pointer by Spanoulis gave Olympiacos the lead, 78-79, with four minutes left. Printezis and Spanoulis took over in crunch time and a dunk by Hunter sealed the outcome in the final minute.

First quarter: A run and gun showdown!

Vangelis Mantzaris banked in a running shot to get Olympiacos going. Parakhouski quickly answered with a close basket and a turnaround jumper by Darden gave Olympiacos a 2-4 lead. Antonov struck from downtown, but Darden nailed a stop-and-pop jumper. Parakhouski tied it at 6-6. Darden kept pacing Olympiacos with another jumper, which Trey Thompkins improved on with a three-pointer for a 9-8 Nizhny lead. Rochestie and Petway exchanged shots from downtown and a dunk by Parakhouski ignited the crowd at 14-11. Petway insisted from beyond the arc and after Thompkins hit free throws, a dunk by Bryant Dunston tied it at 16-16. Antonov sank his second three-pointer. Dunston scored again before free throws by Thompkins gave Nizhny the lead. Petway scored in penetration and a slam by Darden put the Reds back ahead, 21-22. Rochestie took over with a three-point play and Othello Hunter answered with a put-back to tie the game at 24-24 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Nizhny takes slim lead

Parakhouski took over with a put-back basket early in the quarter and he erased Printezis's free throws with a tip-in for a 28-26 Nizhny lead. Thompkins stepped up with another put-back layup. Hunter dunked and a five-meter jumper by Oliver Lafayette tied the game again, 30-30. An unstoppable Parakhouski and Printezis exchanged baskets before a jumper by Tarence Kinsey put the hosts back ahead, 34-32. Printezis scored in the paint, but Kinsey took over with a tip-in. A triple by Lafayette saw Olympiacos regain the lead, 36-37. Kinsey sank a one-handed floater and Printezis scored down low off a timeout, as Olympiacos played more physical with Vasileios Kavvadas guarding Parakhouski. Rochestie stepped up with a driving layup, but he didn't find much help around. Vassilis Spanoulis found Kavvadas for a layup, but Parakhouski gave Nizhny a 42-41 edge at halftime.

Third quarter: Parakhouski extends hosts' edge

Spanoulis hit his trademark driving layup soon after the break. Kinsey answered from downtown, as Nizhny tried a smaller lineup with Antonov at power forward. Parakhouski dunked again and followed that with a layup to make it a 6-point game. Olympiacos kept struggling to score and a layup by a red-hot Parakhouski caused the Reds to call timeout at 51-43. Kostas Sloukas tried to change things with a triple, but Parakhouski answered with an alley-oop layup. A dunk by Darden got Olympiacos within 53-48. Printezis and Sloukas hit free throws, but Rochestie shined with a wild three-pointer to make it 56-52. Antonov scored down low and erased Printezis's foul shots with a slam. Printezis and Antonov exchanged shots from downtown. Printezis, Levan Patsatsia and Dmitry Khvostov hit foul shots, but a big triple by Petway and a running jumper by Sloukas kept the Reds within 66-63.

Fourth quarter: Spanoulis steps up and wins it

Rochestie buried a six-meter jumper off the dribble early in the quarter. Petway hit 1 of 3 free throws and an alley-oop dunk by Hunter kept Olympiacos close at 69-66. Khvostov and Matt Lojeski joined the three-point shootout and free throws by Parakhouski made it a 4-point game. Lojeski insisted from beyond the arc, but Rochestie answered from downtown. Hunter kept Olympiacos within 76-74. Printezis nailed his trademark floater off the baseline, before Parakhouski scored around the basket. A three-pointer by Spanoulis completed the guests' comeback at 78-79 with less than four minutes left. Printezis hit a one-handed floater, which Kinsey erased with a step-back jumper. Spanoulis made 1-of-3 free throws, collected an acrobatic steal and found Hunter for a dunk that sealed the outcome, 80-84, with 43.6 seconds left. Nizhny did not recover and free throws by Spanoulis allowed him to celebrate the win.

Head Coaches

BAGATSKIS, AINARS

Nizhny Novgorod

"I had the best position to watch the best European basketball tonight and I'm really happy about it. Maybe it's because our leaders are playing too much, but the last games we really haven't finished our job on defense. Tonight there were a few moments when we defended well for 20 seconds, but then conceded. I think we played well tonight overall, we can keep heads up. Many thanks to our fans, it's a great joy to play in this gym."

SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS

Olympiacos Piraeus

"It was a good game because Nizhny is a very talented team offensively. We were nervous defensively at some points of the game because of their talent. I think we played well on defense in the fourth quarter. But of course we need to improve. However, I think tonight we proved that we are a good offensive team as well."

Players

ANTONOV, SEMEN

Nizhny Novgorod

"I think it's a big win for us, because it's a very tough place to play and Nizhny Novgorod is a good team, especially offensively. We improved during the game and I think we had a very good fourth quarter."

PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS

Olympiacos Piraeus

"I think it's a big win for us, because it's a very tough place to play and Nizhny Novgorod is a good team, especially offensively. We improved during the game and I think we had a very good fourth quarter."